A Fringe Festival play
First, a review in The Montreal Gazette
... and Stockings for the Ladies
Gesamptkunstwerk Productions
Venue 7 - Portuguese Association of Canada
( 4170 St. Urbain St.)
I thought this show was fantastic. I think it's important to remember that invigorating theatre is letting a story happen to everyone witnessing and performing. This company did an outstanding job of weaving an intricate storyline filled with memorable and exciting characters out of a history in need of telling and knowing by all. I was deeply moved, especially by the power of watching performer and puppet live together onstage. Bravo.
Susanna Fournier
Background
GERMANY, British Broadcasting Corporation — British troops have entered the German concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen.
Inside the camp the horrified soldiers found piles of dead and rotting corpses and thousands of sick and starving prisoners kept in severely overcrowded and dirty compounds.
Belsen, near Hanover in Germany, is the first concentration camp to be liberated by the British. Details of the conditions inside are likely to horrify a public which until now has only heard limited descriptions from the camps in Poland freed by the Red Army.
The first British soldiers who entered Bergen-Belsen have described seeing a huge pile of dead, naked women's bodies within full view of several hundred children held at the camp.
To the annoyance of their commanding officers, RCAF Wing Commander Ted Aplin and RCAF Sergeant Stanley Winfield broke through red tape to organize truckloads of food, medical supplies, and medical attention to alleviate the suffering of the Nazi victims.
With the post office in a shambles, Aplin used the good offices of the RCAF to help survivors make contact with relatives in Canada. The effort of these Canadians casts a heart-warming light on a living nightmare.
His grand stepson, Atilla Clemann, a Canadian actor, director, and playwright, has written a play drawn on archived material available in Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa.
The play, titled “ . . . and stockings for the ladies..” opened in Montreal on Friday, June 8, at the Association Portuguese du Canada. 4170 St-Urbain, as part of the Montreal and Toronto Fringe Festivals.
Staged Saturday, June and Tuesday, June 12, “ and stockings for the ladies” will run daily in Montreal daily through to Saturday June 17.
In Toronto, the play may be seen at the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space, 30 Bridgman Avenue.
It will run there from Friday, July 6, to Monday, July 9, a break for Tuesday, and then Wednesday, July 11, Friday, July 13, and Sunday, July 15.
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